To mark World Sleep Day 2026, a global study of Samsung Health users^[2] is shedding new light on the true extent of the condition and the disruptive impact it has on your sleep. Aligned with this year’s World Sleep Day theme, “Sleep Well, Live Better,” Samsung is turning the invisible signs of sleep apnoea into actionable insights through its Galaxy Watch series, helping those affected improve their sleep habits and overall health.

Infographic including all key data on impact of sleep apnoea

How Does Sleep Apnoea Impact Your Sleep?

The report found that 23% of study participants are at risk of sleep apnoea.

“The microarousals and awakenings that follow breathing pauses fragment your sleep,” explains behavioural sleep scientist Dr. Vanessa Hill. “Those occurrences can prevent the brain from staying in the REM and deep sleep stages necessary for cognitive and physical restoration.”

The report shows these constant disruptions take a direct toll on sleep duration and quality, leading to:

• Reduced REM Sleep: Participants with moderate to severe sleep apnoea indicators detected by their Galaxy Watch got around four minutes less rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the phase where our brains process emotions, consolidate memories and cement learning. Without enough of it, people can experience mood instability and memory problems, impacting performance at work and overall well-being.
• Less Deep Sleep: Sleep apnoea also robs sufferers of deep sleep, approximately eight minutes less per night, on average. This is the body’s critical physical restoration phase, where growth hormone is released, muscles are repaired, and your immune system is activated. Losing out on deep sleep is why you may feel physically exhausted, have slower recovery times, and get sick more often.
• Frequent Nightly Awakenings: Study participants with signs of sleep apnoea also woke up regularly during the night and stayed awake around four minutes longer. These interruptions derail the sleep cycle, locking you into lighter, less restorative stages and making next-day exhaustion inevitable, no matter how long you slept.
• Shorter Sleep Duration: Overall, people with a higher likelihood of sleep apnoea averaged around 12 minutes less sleep. While this loss may seem minor, it can have a significant impact on overall sleep quality as your sleep cycle gets fragmented throughout the night.

Why It Matters:

“Even a small loss in sleep duration is compounded by a larger loss of sleep quality,” said Dr. Hill. “This can be the difference between simply being ‘in bed’ and getting restorative rest, which could be why people feel so tired the next day.”

Dr. Hill also advocates a multidimensional approach to sleep health. “Sleep apnoea affects many dimensions of sleep — duration, quality, sleep efficiency and even daytime fatigue,” she stated. “They together help determine our health and functioning.”

With sleep apnoea shown to impact all aspects of sleep and lead to other health complications, detection is an essential first step in the fight against the condition.

How Does Galaxy Watch Help Detect Signs of Moderate to Severe Sleep Apnoea?

For years, sleep apnoea has been difficult to detect due to the need for inconvenient hospital tests. However, Samsung offers at-home detection with a first-of-its-kind^[3] feature on your Galaxy Watch.

• How It Works: Users simply track their sleep with a compatible Galaxy Watch^[4] for more than four hours over two nights within a ten-day period. Available through the Samsung Health Monitor app^[5], the Sleep Apnoea feature enables users to proactively spot signs of the condition. Initially launched in Korea, the feature has since received De Novo authorisation from the U.S. FDA and is now available in 78 markets worldwide, including the UK, and counting.
• The Technology: Leveraging the Galaxy Watch’s BioActive Sensor, the feature tracks blood oxygen levels to determine when the user stops breathing (apnoea) or is not breathing enough (hypopnea). Based on this data, the feature estimates the user’s Apnoea-Hypopnea Index (AHI), which indicates the severity of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).
• From Awareness to Action: By detecting signs of sleep apnoea early, the feature provides the data needed for an informed consultation with a medical professional. In addition to tackling sleep apnoea, your Galaxy Watch can help you build habits for better holistic sleep health. Features include the Sleep Coaching program for detailed analysis and tips on how to improve sleep quality and Bedtime Guidance,^[6] which recommends your optimal bedtime to ensure you consistently get enough sleep.

“For years, the inconvenience of an in-lab clinical sleep study has been a barrier to diagnosing sleep apnoea,” added Dr. Hill. “Wearable technology such as Galaxy Watch is a breakthrough because it democratises that first step. It allows people to gather meaningful data from their own beds, providing a starting point for a conversation with a healthcare professional.”

Take Control of Your Night

A good night’s sleep is the first step toward a healthier, more energised life, and Samsung is here to guide you. Samsung’s ecosystem offers end-to-end care, from detecting signs of sleep apnoea on your Galaxy Watch to providing suggestions to receive professional adviceto connecting you with professional advice through our health network.

Looking ahead, Samsung is constantly innovating and improving the Sleep Apnoea feature to make it even more powerful with sharper insights. Prioritise your rest today to unlock a healthier tomorrow.

[1] Obstructive Sleep Apnoea National Indicator Report,” American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2023)

[2] Samsung Health users from the U.S., South Korea, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Chile, South Africa, and the Philippines participated in the study from January–June 2025.

[3] Requires a Galaxy smartphone running Android 12 or above. Do not use feature if you are pregnant or have previously been diagnosed with sleep apnoea. 22 years+ only. Intended to detect signs of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea over a two-night period. Feature will not detect central sleep apnoea. Does not replace diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.

[4] Available on Galaxy Watch4 series and later models. The watch requires the Wear OS 5.0 version or later and must be paired with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone with Android 12.0 or later.

[5] Samsung Health features are intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. Not intended for use in detection, diagnosis, treatment of any medical condition or sleep disorder. The measurements are for your personal reference only. Please consult a medical professional for advice. Samsung account login required. Vascular Load, Running Coach and Antioxidant Index are available on Android phones (Android 10 or above) and requires the Samsung Health app (v6.30.2 or later). Vascular Load and Antioxidant index are Labs features that you can preview before its official launch. If you don’t want to use these experimental features, you can turn them off in Samsung Health settings.

[6] Bedtime guidance is available on Android phone (Android 11 and above) requires Samsung Health app (v6.30.2 or later). It is based on 3 days of sleep analysis of user’s circadian rhythm and sleep pressure.

LONDON, U.K. – 19 November 2024 – One UI 6 Watch will soon be available to a wider range of Galaxy Watch devices through the latest software update^[1]. Beginning to roll out today, the update will bring select features from the Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Watch7^[2] to previous generations of Galaxy Watch around the world including Galaxy Watch6, Galaxy Watch6 Classic, Galaxy Watch5, Galaxy Watch5 Pro, Galaxy Watch4, Galaxy Watch4 Classic and Galaxy Watch FE.

The One UI 6 Watch update offers personalised insights to even more users for a holistic and comprehensive understanding of health^[3]. With Energy Score, users can better understand their physical and mental conditions through an intuitive score calculated from various health metrics including sleep, activity, sleeping heart rate and sleeping heart rate variability. Users can also access personalised recommendations, powered by Galaxy AI^[4], to support health improvement. For sleep tracking, receive a deeper and more accurate understanding of sleep with a detailed analysis powered by an advanced AI algorithm and new sleep metrics, including movement during sleep, sleep latency, heart rate and respiratory rate.

The expansion of One UI 6 Watch empowers more users to stay motivated and conquer their fitness goals with personalised experiences. Monitor progress in real time when running or cycling with Race, which compares changes in current and past performance to encourage users to make improvements. Workout Routine allows users to combine various exercises and create personalised routines, uniquely tailored to their individual goals and preferences.

Furthermore, the latest update provides new watch faces to best suit various needs or preferences that are both stylish and functional. For instance, use the Simple Digital watch face to reflect a minimalist design, or the Ultra Info Board watch face to check information at a glance without sacrificing style. The expansion of One UI 6 Watch also allows users to enjoy more seamless experiences with connected Galaxy devices. When paired with a compatible Galaxy smartphone, users can effortlessly send suitable responses with AI-powered Suggested replies. With simple and intuitive Double Pinch Gestures, a connected Galaxy smartphone can be easily controlled right from the wrist to answer calls, dismiss alarms, take photos and even more.

[1] The software update will come first to the Galaxy Watch6 series and then become available sequentially to previous generations. Feature availability and support may vary by market, carrier, model and paired smartphone.

[2] For more information on relevant product features and disclaimers, please click the hyperlink.

[3] Intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. Not intended for use in the detection, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring or management of any medical condition or disease. Any health-related information accessed through the device and/or application should not be treated as medical advice. Users should seek any medical advice from a physician. Certain features may vary by market, carrier or paired device.

[4] Samsung does not make any promises, assurances or guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the output provided by AI features. Samsung account login may be required to use certain Samsung AI features. Galaxy AI service may be limited for minors in certain regions with age restrictions over AI usage. Galaxy AI features will be provided for free until the end of 2025 on supported Samsung Galaxy devices. Different terms may apply for AI features provided by third parties.

(From left) Samsung’s Dr. Hon Pak, BeeKeeper AI’s Dr. Michael Blum, Mills Peninsula Medical Center’s Dr. David Klonoff and Samsung Medical Center’s Professor Myung Jin Chung

What do you see as the future of health and what role does technology play in it, especially when combined with Generative AI?

Dr. Hon Pak, SVP and Head of Digital Health Team, MX Business at Samsung Electronics

Professor Chung Through years of clinical experiences, I’ve learned there is immense value in a comprehensive, 360-degree understanding of a patient’s health history. However, it can be challenging to fully grasp their lifestyle or key wellness factors, such as sleep patterns or eating habits, especially when treatment is focused on specific symptoms. Lifelog data gained from wearables can be helpful for healthcare and clinical management to better understand the full context of one’s health history. And AI can assist clinicians by streamlining the management and interpretation of collected information over time, simplifying the process. The future of AI is distilling vital insights from daily life to deliver a deeper understanding of one’s health based on continuous monitoring by a wearable.

Dr. Michael Blum, M.D., CEO and co-founder of BeeKeeper AI

Dr. Blum As a cardiologist, I also want to add that continuous monitoring is emerging as a vital tool in early detection and prediction of a potential disease. For instance, conditions like atrial fibrillation and high blood pressure, which are high risk and high impact, yet manageable through low-intensity interventions, can benefit greatly from such monitoring. By wearing a smartwatch, we can better understand the underlying issues that may be contributing to it, and Samsung can be hugely impactful here. These tools, powered by AI, can easily turn data into consumable insights and actionable wisdom, empowering individuals to take proactive steps to reduce possible health risks.

Dr. David Klonoff, M.D., President of the Diabetes Research Institute at Mills Peninsula Medical Center

Dr. Klonoff Glucose monitoring has become more prevalent, not just for diabetes management but for people who don’t have diabetes yet are interested in pursuing a healthier lifestyle. As such, there’s increasing interest in understanding what behaviors affect glucose levels. Since health metrics are interconnected, combining glucose data with sleep, blood pressure, and activity level insights initiates profound conversations about individuals’ lifestyles and experiences. And if users can gain a deeper understanding of these collective insights sooner, then there’s increased opportunity to identify early warning signs of potential health issues such as diabetes. Wearables and AI amplify the value of physiological data and individuals can gain a richer, more nuanced understanding of metabolic health and facilitate opportunities to improve overall wellness and fitness.

What role do you expect Samsung to play in the evolving health landscape?

Dr. Klonoff We encourage Samsung to not only embrace AI in their health monitoring technology but continue to lean on their pioneering heritage of innovation to emerge as a leader in promoting behavioural change. Through ongoing conversations and collaborative efforts with medical experts, Samsung can help people make the changes in their lives that are needed.  Leveraging these insights can encourage people to stay healthy over the long term without feeling overwhelmed and enable them to lead more fulfilling and enjoyable lives.

Dr. Blum I agree that technology integrated into people’s lives can be an important step to maintain everyday wellness and help to prevent serious health conditions. These devices should seamlessly work in the background in an innocuous way, and Samsung has been a clear leader in this space with its diverse product offerings, ranging from smartphones and TVs to home appliances. However, the question that remains is how can we successfully improve people’s daily lives from a wellness perspective? In the end, it is crucial to connect with users to understand their patterns and encourage positive behavioural modifications; and Samsung has the potential to push the limits of what’s possible, so we can all take better care of ourselves and our families.

Professor Myung Jin Chung, Director of Samsung AI Research Center at Samsung Medical Center

Professor Chung I echo Dr. Blum’s sentiment, in that while Samsung devices are already deeply embedded into our everyday lives, there are opportunities to further embrace its device ecosystem to facilitate behavioural changes for a happier, healthier tomorrow. However, there’s immense power in making behavioural changes with support from family members; it’s more effective than taking on this challenge alone. That’s why it’s necessary to leverage continuous monitoring and insights, as well as create a care circle with family and friends. Samsung can be a huge contributor in creating a care circle by leveraging its expertise and advanced capabilities to maximise social connections with the goal of providing users with greater knowledge about themselves and their loved ones.

Today, more than ever, people are defining their own wellness goals. From looking to stay fit or gaining more muscle mass, achieving better sleep, or caring for personal or family physical and mental health issues, everyone’s goals for better health look different. But one thing is common, the daily management and path towards these goals can be complicated and challenging, and most importantly, it is defined by you.

That’s why at Samsung, we’re working to empower more people to manage their health – and those they care for – their way, with a comprehensive, yet simplified approach to everyday wellness. Our vision is to improve the health of billions through connected care centered around the home by connecting devices, services and people – like only Samsung can.

Simplifying Wellness by Uniting Scattered Health Data

One of the biggest challenges the healthcare industry is facing today is fragmented data and how to bring it all together. Samsung is uniquely positioned to undertake this with one of the largest, most diverse connected device ecosystems. Now with Samsung Health, we’re connecting different devices and partner solutions within one cohesive platform, making it simpler to track health conditions on a Galaxy wearable.

By collecting data through advanced sensor technology, you’ll receive a deeper, more holistic understanding of your health with improved insights and integrated third party health data. And as always, your personal data on the Galaxy devices remains secure thanks to the Samsung Knox security platform.

Turning Data into Meaningful Insights with the Transformative Power of AI

Like any good data model, how you leverage the information is key. In this new mobile era of AI, Samsung is focused on remaining at the forefront of maximising information. With the intelligence of AI, the most transformative technology of the century, users will receive more personalised insights and tailored health experiences through Samsung Health’s extensive global dataset from 64M monthly active users. And while every user’s wellness journey is unique, we believe they all start in the same way – by gaining a deeper understanding of their health through more comprehensive insights, spanning the longest time possible.

This is why we’ve continued to build a portfolio of tools that help track their health conveniently, continuously and accurately. This approach comes to life in our wearables portfolio with upcoming features like My Vitality Score^[1] and Booster Card^[2], combining more data with new intelligent analysis to deliver even more personalised and actionable guidance day and night.

Bringing it all to Life Starting with a Good Night’s Sleep

With more data and greater intelligence, users will receive even more insights for preventative wellness end-to-end solutions, starting with sleep.  We’ve developed a variety of features that offer users a deeper understanding of their sleep quality and other aspects of their health during sleep. For example, the sleep apnea feature, which recently received De Novo clearance from US FDA, will detect signs of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea – and often undiagnosed and untreated – chronic medical condition, so they can address it with their healthcare provider.

This is just the beginning. We’re working with partners to connect these capabilities to real world solutions and services that expand access to healthcare in the home. For instance, you can create a more optimal sleep environment with a smart mattress that can fine-tune the ideal sleep temperatures for rest.

The Future of Wellness is at Your Fingers

Samsung recognises that gaining a deep understanding of one’s personal health can result in significant long-term wellness benefits for our users. As we look to deliver on our vision of providing users with a comprehensive yet simplified approach to everyday wellness, we realise choice is a big factor. Obtaining accurate, detailed and advanced information on personal health conditions is the foundation of helping better track and action change.

Mobile devices will become the primary access point for AI, and through Samsung Galaxy – with our broad and comprehensive product portfolio, heritage of innovation, and philosophy of open collaboration – we’re well positioned to accelerate its global expansion.  That’s why we’re thrilled to be introducing Samsung Galaxy Ring later this year – bringing Samsung’s accumulated innovations to the smallest form for comfortable 24/7 wear. As a new addition to our wearables portfolio, Galaxy Ring will offer users an all-new way to simplify everyday wellness, empowering them with greater insights and more ways to understand themselves day and night. With Galaxy Ring, users can embrace an unrivalled experience during every step of their wellness journey, all while being delivered in lockstep with Samsung’s broader vision for a more connected, integrated and seamless digital wellness platform.

Samsung will continue to enrich and expand Galaxy AI experiences across our product categories and collaborations to bring forward mobile experiences that defy imagination. The launch of Galaxy Ring is just one of Samsung’s many initiatives that exemplifies this and delivers on our vision of improving the health and wellness of billions, starting at home, with you. Through the power of intelligence, partnerships and advanced technology, we’re helping more people better understand themselves and make the small changes that have a big impact, every day. With this, the power of Galaxy AI, and many more exciting health and wellness solutions and updates on the horizon, we can’t wait for you to see what we have in store.

[1] My Vitality Score will be made available on Samsung Health within 2024. Availability may vary by market, carrier, or wearable device. Features are intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. The measurements are for your personal reference only. Please consult a medical professional for advice.

[2] Booster Card will be made available on Samsung Health within 2024. Availability may vary by market, carrier, or wearable device.